Review and Excerpt Tour: Jock Row: Sara Ney
Sara Ney
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Release Date May 3, 2018
Book One in the JOCK HARD Series
Scarlett is always the sensible one: The sober driver. The planner. The one holding your hair back while you're worshiping the porcelain gods.
Week-after-week, she visits Jock Row with her friends—the university's hottest party scene and breeding ground for student athletes. And if keeping her friends out of trouble, and guys out of their pants, was a sport, she'd be the star athlete.
Being a well known jock-blocker gets her noticed for all the wrong reasons; just like that, she's banned from Jock Row. NO GUY WANTS A GIRL AROUND WHO KEEPS THEIR JOCK FRIENDS FROM GETTING LAID.
"Rowdy" Wade is the hot shot short-stop for the university's baseball team—and the unlucky bastard who drew the short straw: keep little Miss Goody Two-Shoes out of the Baseball House.
But week-after-week Scarlett returns, determined to get inside.
Scarlett Ripley just wanted a night out with her friends at a party at the baseball house in Jock Row. But she is independent minded and wears what she wants and says what she wants, and she might call people out on BS. So when the guys do not like it, they have her removed to the porch. Rowdy Wade is Captain of the team so he is the one tasked with getting rid of her. He is big, broody, handsome and popular. But he is also smart and funny.
That night on the porch ends up being more interesting than either thought. She challenges him and he pushes right back at her. And it happens again and again. Soon there is talking, flirting, getting to know each other games, and sexual tension. The man who kicked her out of a party is becoming her friend, and it is gradually building towards more. I fell more for Rowdy as the book went on and we got to see into his head. He was really adorable, vulnerable, protective, determined, and patient.
This is a sweet, funny, slow burn, almost-enemies, friends-to-lovers, jock and nerdy girl story told in dual points of view. There is a gradual building of knowledge about each other and themselves, and slow moving towards the more physical. The characters had likable and interesting personalities and felt genuine. They did what they wanted even if it was not exactly what their peers thought was appropriate. I loved that they really wanted to get to know each other, and I enjoyed their flirty and witty banter and rapport. The might have seemed like opposites, but could also appreciate the other for who they truly were. And they were just adorable together.
Scarlett is the responsible one, the babysitter, the consummate designated driver (if the girls drove to parties on Jock Row). One too many instances of spoiling athletes’ hook up attempts with her friends gets her kicked out of the party by the team captain. When she keeps showing up on Friday nights, he keeps babysitting her. As they spend more time on the porch, they strike up a friendship and an attraction.
These are two characters who are just plain likeable. From the beginning I liked both of them, even as she was a party pooper and he was the guy who had to set her straight. I liked that Scarlett knew herself and wasn’t afraid to be herself. Rowdy was fun in his determination to keep Scarlett to himself despite knowing his teammates would be upset if they learned she was still hanging around.
This book was enjoyable and cute in it’s college party scenes, chapter headings, and weekly meetups on the porch. I loved the pacing as Scarlett and Rowdy use drinking games to get to know each other and build a slightly out of the ordinary friendship. It was definitely a slow buildup, but the low drama and sweetness of their quirky friendship made it a very fun read. They may not have met had Scarlett been kicked out of that first party, but what they build on the porch was a sweet journey.
These are two characters who are just plain likeable. From the beginning I liked both of them, even as she was a party pooper and he was the guy who had to set her straight. I liked that Scarlett knew herself and wasn’t afraid to be herself. Rowdy was fun in his determination to keep Scarlett to himself despite knowing his teammates would be upset if they learned she was still hanging around.
This book was enjoyable and cute in it’s college party scenes, chapter headings, and weekly meetups on the porch. I loved the pacing as Scarlett and Rowdy use drinking games to get to know each other and build a slightly out of the ordinary friendship. It was definitely a slow buildup, but the low drama and sweetness of their quirky friendship made it a very fun read. They may not have met had Scarlett been kicked out of that first party, but what they build on the porch was a sweet journey.
I was gifted a copy.
Jesus Christ, she has a dimple in her damn cheek.
I’m a sucker for those.
She shoots me a tentative smile, ass parked on the stoop, back propped against the wooden siding of the house.
It’s obvious that she’s blushing by the way she ducks her head, glancing down at the floor, the soft glow from the two busted lamps illuminate the crown of her head.
The porch lights are busted and rusty, needing their bulbs changed, one flickering—the other just about to burn out. It makes the entire place look like a goddamn Halloween fun-house, casting a weird glow on the girl’s smooth, pale skin.
And her pretty dimple.
Stop staring at it, dipshit.
I cast my glance at her outfit, doing my best to analyze her under the dim lights; she must have been sweaty inside the house; I got a good look at her before convincing her to follow me, but still study her as if seeing her for the first time.
Both of her boots are tucked under her legs, and she sits, cross-legged on the ground. Blows out a frustrated puff of air that translates into a billowing stream of steam.
“So.” She wraps her puffed sleeved arms around her knees, hugging them tight. Shivers. “Now what?”
Her prim ponytail is jaunty, bobbing when she tilts her head to gaze over at me.
“Now I babysit you.”
“Lovely. We can bond.”
I position my large body against the railing, giving it a gentle shake to make sure it’s sturdy before supporting all my weight on it. It’s solid and secure and is going to get real uncomfortable real fucking fast if I have to stand here all night.
The girl raises her brows at me. They appear black in this light; full and arched expertly. “Have you babysat anyone before?”
“No one I managed to keep alive,” I joke. “A few cousins my parents forced me to watch a few times; never would feed them but would occasionally throw out a dog bone so they wouldn’t get hungry.”
She smiles, dimple denting the smooth right side of her face. “Is that what you have planned for me?”
I raise my empty hands. “I’m fresh out of Scooby snacks. Guess we’ll both have to starve.”
“Sorry you have to sit out here.”
“Really?” I sound hopeful. “No one is forcing you to sit out here.”
Her light laugh is quiet. “Fine. I guess I’m not that sorry.” She bites down on her lower lip. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t enjoying your discomfort—just a little bit.”
“Gee, thanks.”
SWITCH HITTER (Jock Hard #0.5)ADD TO GOODREADS
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Our reviews
Novella – Standalone
I knew something was wrong the second she walked in the door tonight; I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.
Same hair color.
Same legs.
Same face.
Except…I look harder.
At the small dimple beneath her lip that wasn’t there the last time we went out. And her laugh—that laugh isn’t as loud.
This isn’t the girl I’ve gone out with the past few weeks.
It’s her twin sister, and they’ve switched places on me.
Only I’m not quite ready to let them switch back.
Sara Ney
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